South Carolina football, all of a sudden, has a pretty loaded defensive tackles group. The unit is void of young talent (only one player has more than two years of eligibility remaining), but there is a long list of veterans who could help out at the position during the 2024 season.
The Gamecocks are 93 days away from the start of their season (a home contest against the Old Dominion Monarchs), and #93 Nick Barrett is one of the veteran defensive tackles vying for playing time as part of defensive line coach Travian Robertson's unit.
Barrett is a senior now, and the big fella has been on the field for every game the last two seasons for the Gamecocks as a rotational defensive tackle. He has also been named to the SEC Fall Honor Roll twice.
Barrett is the type of defensive tackle whose physical profile best fits as a nose tackle. Beginning with the back end of last season, defensive coordinator Clayton White began utilizing the 3-3-5 more frequently. While the formation takes one true tackle off the field, it also lends itself to putting a big tackle in the middle of the defensive line.
The Gamecocks have several players who can be platooned at the nose tackle position, but Barrett is one of four true nose tackle types who will be on the roster this season. He will compete with transfer portal addition Deandre Jules (Pittsburgh Panthers), junior college signee Jerome Simmons (Highland Community College Scotties), and redshirt sophomore Jamaal Whyce for supremacy as the team's top nose (though, Boogie Huntley, TJ Sanders, Tonka Hemingway, and Monkell Goodwine all could get snaps at nose just to get more athletic tackles on the field).
Barrett has flashed some ability in the past to eat double teams, clog running lanes, and, even some nice hands on a tip-drill interception in the 2022 Gator Bowl. When Barrett has been at his best, it's when he has opened up lanes for his linebackers and safeties to make tackles thanks to his efforts up front.
Barrett's style of play is fundamentally sound and more about the team than about himself. On every team, there is always a need for a player who knows his job well and who is a team-first player, and those are things that the rising senior brings to the table.
If he has a good summer, Nick Barrett can once again be a factor on the Gamecock defensive line and potentially push for a spot on the depth chart ahead of the season opener on August 31st.